Thinking Too Much
by Adven277
Summary: Tifa wonders what if she went back in time and prevented Aerith's death? One shot.


**Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, why do you think I've been making fanfics about them?**

Yes, yes, I know. A fic about Tifa dying instead of Aerith. Common, I know. But who cares? I want to, so I'll write it.

Sorry, finals are coming up, so I'm a bit on edge, anyway, please R & R. Thank you.

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_*Author's Note Ends*

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Tifa watched as the brown-haired Cetra prayed at the center of the temple. Her expression was serene, but serious. Green light hovered around them, reflecting the water that was supposed to be the lifestream.

Her gaze wandered from the mage to the blonde swordsman. She watched as he drew his massive sword and aimed at her friend.

"Cloud!" She heard Cid yell, alarm in his voice.

Then her eyes widened as Cloud had his arms over his head, ready to strike.

"Stop!" She cried.

He hesitated, and she heard him say, "What are you making me do?"

Then, she saw _him._

Her ruby eyes looked up, and there was the man, in all his silver-haired glory, he had his long sword drawn, and it was aiming for her friend. His black cape was flowing malevolently as he descended. Faster he fell, straight for Aerith.

_No…NO!_ She tried to scream, with everything she had, she wanted to warn her friend of the man about to take her away. She wanted to do something—anything at all, but to no avail, her body wouldn't move._ There isn't much time!_

Helplessness overwhelmed her when the sword had pierced through her smooth skin. Her dress, originally pink, had now been stained with deep crimson. Tifa's eyes were burning. She turned to Cloud, who was struck with awe. _Why isn't he doing something?_

How much time had passed? Minutes? It had seemed like hours to Tifa. Sephiroth's sword was still pierced through her friend's body, and it broke her heart to see Aerith's pair of green eyes widen in shock, but strangely enough, the smile didn't leave her face. Her eyes closed, and Sephiroth pulled his sword out. Tifa wanted to faint, her knees were tempting her to do so, but she willed herself to stay strong.

_What had she done to deserve this?_

Her vision had blurred, due to the tears that threatened to flow, but she gazed at her, wanting to see the last moments that she was… alive. Her pink ribbon had come undone—her favorite ribbon, as it separated from her hair, Tifa saw a small flash of light coming from it. What was it? It looked like a sphere, and it fell to the lifestream.

Cloud caught her before she fell to the ground.

"Aerith…" He gently shook her body. "This can't be real!"

It was amazing how Tifa managed to hold her tears, as she was shaking in disbelief. Sephiroth had mumbled something, but she didn't care, actually, she wanted him to shut up so she could concentrate on Aerith.

"Shut up." As if reading her thoughts, Cloud voiced them out. Tifa watched as he bowed his head, closer to Aerith, while trembling, then abruptly looked at his former hero.

"The cycle of nature and your stupid plan don't mean a thing." Slowly, he returned his gaze to Aerith.

"Aerith is gone. Aerith will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry… or get angry."

Cloud held her body close, and bowed his head forward.

"What about _us?_ What are _we_ supposed to do?"

Tifa watched as her childhood friend rested her best friend's body on the floor. Lifeless. She imagined touching her face—she imagined that it might be cold. She was scared to find out.

"What about my pain?" She cringed at his words, they were really filled with hurt and anger, hatred, even. What he felt was the same as hers.

Her fingers were tingling.

"My fingers are tingling." Cloud said.

Her mouth was dry.

"My mouth is dry."

Her eyes, they were burning!

"My eyes are burning."

Her mind was spinning. She couldn't cry, or more like, she wouldn't let herself cry. Tifa channeled all of her sadness into hatred and prepared herself for what she knew would inevitably come—a battle full of hatred.

She knew that she was a part of this hatred, and she didn't care.

Tifa sat grimly inside her bar—the Seventh Heaven. Holding a glass half-filled with water, she leaned against the bar counter. It had been three years. By defeating Sephiroth twice in two years, and helping Vincent defeat Deepground a year after, they had saved the world _thrice_. But now the chaos was over, and Tifa was left to reminisce on everything that had happened throughout those years. Soft footsteps made their way into the bar, her head slightly tilted up. She turned around and, as expected, found Cloud leaning against the doorway.

"Cloud." She nodded to acknowledge his presence. She didn't smile like she usually would have done.

"What's wrong?"

Tifa shook her head. "Just… remembering."

Cloud sat down, he nodded, as if just by those two words he knew exactly what she was talking about. Tifa felt the hard wood creak as the blonde leaned on the bar counter. She stared off into space.

"I still think," she began. "What if… she hadn't died?"

"She died to save the planet, Tifa."

_As if I didn't know that, but…_"But her death wasn't exactly a requirement to summon Meteor, right?"

"Tifa." His voice was gentle, but firm.

Her ruby eyes stared at him, after a few minutes, her gaze returned to the wooden surface of the bar counter.

"I know, I'm thinking too much."

Tifa closed her eyes, she felt Cloud's hand on her shoulder. His fingers slowly trailed off as he disappeared into his room upstairs.

_What I really wanted to say was… _Her grip on the glass tightened. She rested her head on the counter. She felt her eyes burning again, as if tears were about to fall, she squeezed them shut. The Seventh Heaven began to shrink, and the dimly lit corners of the room darkened into black._ What if I was the one who died in her place?_

_Let me show you then, Tifa._

Tifa looked around. Green light filled her vision. _Where am I?_ The blurriness of the room slowly began to clear, and she realized where she was—the forgotten capital.

"H-huh? What?"

"Look alive, Tifa!" Cid told her as he pointed toward Cloud, his sword was drawn and it was aimed at—at Aerith! She was kneeling at the center of the temple.

"Stop!" She yelled.

The moment she saw Cloud hesitate, she knew _he _was coming, but now she was prepared. _This time… this time for sure!_

From the sky, Sephiroth came into view.

With a determination clear in her ruby eyes, she lunged forward. Not expecting it, Aerith widened her green eyes as Tifa pushed her out of the way, replacing her as the one about to be pierced by _his_ sword.

"No!" She heard Aerith yell, but it was too late.

Tifa looked down, something was sticking out of her belly. _A blade…_ Red liquid gushed out from it. _Blood…_

She glanced at her friend, who was looking at her with deep concern, and smiled. Her gaze shifted to Cloud, who was running towards her, his face full of dismay.

She winced as Sephiroth pulled his sword, slicing her stab wound even deeper. She tried not to fall, but her body wouldn't listen to her at all.

Tifa felt trembling hands hold on to her, they held her tight, but gentle enough not to hurt her. Her eyes turned to gaze at his face, and they widened in frustration.

"Cloud…"

She shook her head weakly. "No, Cloud. I can't …die."

Cloud held her hand. He kept staring at her, as if he didn't believe any of this—like he had a hard time taking it all in. Her hand tightened its hold on his.

"I still have to… tell you…"

Her grip loosened.

"…who you are…"

Once again, her world had become black.

In the Sector Seven ruins, near Seventh Heaven, Cloud stood grimly, his shoulders slumped. Tifa watched as he continued to stand there, while staring at an old stone tablet. Aerith placed her small hand on his rough shoulder.

"Why didn't you bury her at Nibelheim, at your hometown?" She asked.

_She was probably talking about me._

Cloud shook his head. "Midgar is our true home," Tifa saw his lips tightened. "Everything began when she brought me here… at Seventh Heaven."

He shook his head once more. "No, my true home was wherever she was." He looked down, staring at her grave. Tifa's grave.

"I couldn't keep our promise. It was the only thing that kept me…" His words trailed off.

Hearing this, Tifa cupped her mouth with her hands. She held back the tears, she seemed to be doing that a lot, lately.

Aerith noticed how his body had tensed, and his fist had clenched. Cloud jerked his head up, his eyes burning with a perplexed emotion.

"The battle isn't over yet—Sephiroth still has to be beaten."

Tifa closed her eyes, and felt herself being drifted off to another place.

This time, Tifa was at the Northern Crater. She wondered if this was the final battle already. She saw Cloud's party, along with Aerith, crossing the land bridge. She followed, but a flash of light blinded everyone.

"What happened?" She heard Aerith say.

Cloud turned to her, his expression serious. "Sephiroth is near, _anything_ could happen."

When the light had faded, they saw Nibelheim, Cloud's hometown… and Tifa's.

"What the hell? Why Nibelheim?" Cid asked.

Shaking his head softly, the blonde spoke, "This is an illusion Sephiroth made up. He's trying to confuse us. It'll be alright, as long as we know it's an illusion, there's nothing to be afraid of."

He motioned to move forward. "Come on, let's keep going."

"Look!" Aerith pointed to the town entrance, and they all saw Sephiroth reach the gates to Nibelheim. As if watching a play, they all scattered around to make room for the scene.

"All right, let's go." The silver-haired man ordered. Followed by two guards and a dark-haired SOLDIER, he ventured deeper into town.

Confused, Cid said, "Cloud's not here."

Cloud shrugged. "This is stupid."

They heard his laugh, piercing and evil beyond belief, as it grew louder and eventually, the scene had faded, and they heard the sound of the rushing wind.

"Hey Cloud, let's get back to the real world, huh?" Cid urged.

"What's next?"

The wind died down, and the town of Nibelheim re-emerged, only this time it was drowning in a sea of flames.

Cid shook his head. "This is terrible."

"This is what actually happened five years ago," Cloud explained. "But," He glanced at the scene. "It's probably not me that's going to come out of the Shinra mansion." He shrugged. "He's going to show us another stupid illusion."

True enough, a man with hair as black as ebony emerged from the mansion, his sword drawn. Zangan, Tifa's martial arts teacher, was outside the inn, tending to a couple of people lying on the ground.

"Hey! It's you! You're still sane, right?" He shouted. He watched the man nod. "Then come over here and help me."

The black-haired man rushed over to him.

_This is where Cloud hands over the black materia to Sephiroth…_ Tifa deduced as she continued to watch.

The young man turned in place slowly, watched the burning houses, and sadly shook his head.

"I'll check this house, you check that one over there." Zangan instructed, then he rushed towards the inn.

A flash of light beamed again, and Cloud and the others were amidst the flames. Cid rushed over to the person lying outside the inn.

"He…Hey you! You alright?"

The person didn't respond.

Cid stammered. "Damn it! This was all made up!"

Cloud yelled, "Sephiroth! I know you're listening! I know what you want to say!" He shook his head. "That I wasn't in Nibelheim five years ago. That's it, isn't it?"

A fast blink of light, and the sound of a church bell's gong, and Sephiroth appeared.

"I see you finally understand."

"You're trying to confuse me, but those won't affect me. I remember it all. The heat of the fire, the pain in my body… and heart!"

He looked at the blonde in amusement. "Is that so?"

While smiling, he continued. "You have no heart, you can't feel pain, because you are a puppet."

The sight of the silver-haired man still made Tifa shudder, even after her supposed death.

"How can there be meaning in the memory of such being? What I have shown you is reality. What you remember," He gazed at him firmly, "that is the illusion."

_Cloud, no._ Tifa stood there, helpless. Cloud couldn't see her, she was dead. The others knew nothing of what was going on. Nobody knew. _Somebody, please. Don't let him say anymore._ She pleaded. Tifa walked towards Aerith, who was watching, still. _Aerith, please, cover his ears._

"Do you understand?" She heard Sephiroth ask.

"I don't want to understand."

He laughed. "No matter, there is no way for you to know of the truth, now that _she_ is gone."

Cloud's eyes widened in anger. "You took her away from me!"

"Why do you think she is so reluctant to talk about this incident, Cloud?"

Tifa gasped as Cloud hesitated. Seeing this, she ran towards Cloud and made an attempt to hold him, but her hands went through his body, as if she were a ghost.

"It is because your memories are false," Sephiroth continued to stare at Cloud. "Five years ago, you were constructed by Hojo, piece by piece, right after Nibelheim was burnt." He turned around, his back facing the others.

"A puppet made of vibrant Jenova cells, her knowledge, and the power of Mako—an incomplete clone of myself. Not even given a number… _that_ is your reality."

Cloud shrugged. _Don't listen to him, Cloud!_

"Inside of you, Jenova has merged with Tifa's memories, creating you. Out of her memory, a boy named Cloud might've just been a part of them."

He laughed. "Now, what happened to that picture of Tifa, that soldier and I? Do you want to see it? It turned out pretty good."

"I… should be in the picture."

Sephiroth showed him a picture of himself with Tifa, and another young man, not Cloud.

Cloud scoffed, "this picture is a fake. The truth is in my memories. Five years ago, I returned to Nibelheim to inspect the reactor, I was sixteen. The town hadn't changed at all. What did I do? Oh yeah…" He nodded. "Yeah, I went into Tifa's room. There I…"

"I played the piano!"

"I looked in the drawers!"

"I spent the night and went to the reactor in Mt. Nibel, I was excited about it, because that was my first mission after becoming first class in SOLDIER."

Cloud clutched his head, trembling.

"…SOLDIER? When did I… enter SOLDIER?"

He fell to the ground, shaking harder.

"Why… why can't I remember?"

From there on, Tifa watched helplessly as Cloud retrieved the Black Materia and hand it over to Sephiroth. Aerith tried desperately to stop him, but like the others, she failed. Tifa fell to her knees and closed her eyes, trembling severely, and once again, she faded into nothingness.

Tifa was still on her knees, but when she opened her eyes, she was at Mideel. It was a quaint little town, with so little knowledge of the outside world. Meteor hung above the sky, tainting it red. She knew that this was where Cloud had washed away after handing over the black material to Sephiroth. The people here found him and took him to the clinic.

She sat at the entrance, putting off going to the clinic. Tifa waited for the others to arrive. She waited and waited, but they never came.

_That's right, I was the one who asked Cid to head for Mideel. If it hadn't been for me, would they have not bothered to come here at all?_

Tifa sat there for one more hour, then abruptly stood up. She couldn't take it anymore. She knew the state Cloud was in, and she couldn't bear the thought of leaving him alone like that. She entered the clinic and through the room, and there she saw Cloud, sitting on a wheelchair. He looked so weak, so vulnerable. She heard several moans come out of his mouth. It was like his mind had stopped functioning. His pupils were dilated and his head kept spinning.

She shook her head, this time, she didn't hold back the tears. She kneeled in front of him and held him tight. She cried and cried, soft sobs escaped her breath as her thoughts became unreal.

_Soon, Weapon will arrive and turn this place into ruins, then Cloud will fall into the Lifestream, with no one to save him. No! I still have to tell you, Cloud! About our memories, about everything.I have to tell you about Zack, and about that incident five years ago, I have to tell you that you're real! That you're not a puppet! That you were the boy I grew up with, the Cloud of Nibelheim! The Cloud I…_

She shook her head frantically.

_Cloud is still searching for his memories, and no one can help him, except for…_

_You, Tifa._

Instead of fading into black, everything around her had become white. Aerith stood in front of her, a loving smile on her face.

"A-aerith?" Her cries stifled down to hiccups. Her eyes were swollen with tears. Tifa felt warm hands gently hold hers.

"Do you understand, Tifa?"

She shook her head.

"If you had taken my place, Cloud would never have survived that ordeal. He never would have found himself."

Tifa looked at her—she was glowing. Her skin was light, with a nice shade of pink. Her eyes were a beautiful glassy green, and her smile, it was so bright and sweet. Her ribbon was in its rightful place, and her hair was tied up in swirls that hung until her waist.

She was vibrant.

"I was the only one who could stop Meteor, but before that, Sephiroth has to be defeated. Cloud was the only one who could."

Words wouldn't escape Tifa's mouth. She closed her eyes.

"You were the only one who could save him. Don't you see, Tifa? I have my own destiny," She pulled her into a gentle embrace, "and you have yours."

Tifa opened her eyes, and found herself back inside the second generation Seventh Heaven in Edge, and her head still rested on the bar counter. She sat up and looked around. She heard quiet footsteps descend down the stairs.

"Tifa?" Cloud walked towards her. "Did you fall asleep? I—what's wrong?"

She stared at him, confused. He had a look of concern in his face.

"Why are you crying?"

Unconsciously, she touched her face, it was damp from tears. She couldn't stop now. _Whatever, I'll just keep crying and leave all the worrying to Cloud now._ She cried harder.

"H-hey… Are you okay?"

His fingers traced the back of her spine to her shoulders, and Tifa took that as an invitation to throw herself in his arms. Cloud, seemingly surprised, just shrugged and held her close.

Between sobs, she spoke, "I think… Aerith was a bit angry with me."

Cloud leaned slightly back to stare at her face. "Why?"

"Because I was thinking too much."

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_W-ell? I hope this is okay. Let me know what you guys think._


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